What to call 1980's up-sing?

September 16, 2016 3:24 PM

Is there a name for the vocal up-swing at the end of a line in a song? Two good examples of what I'm talking about in Walking in LA and I Eat Cannibals
posted by RobotHero to Media & Arts (8 answers total)

No idea what to call it, but I always associate it with Cyndi Lauper.

Girls Just Want to Have Fun
posted by MsMolly at 4:46 PM on September 16, 2016

The "hey!" at 1:51 in Like a Virgin would probably also qualify, yes?
posted by MsMolly at 5:06 PM on September 16, 2016

Also Safety Dance at 2:22.
posted by zippy at 5:39 PM on September 16, 2016

I'm not sure if there's a term for the specific flourish you're talking about but I think it can be considered a subset of the larger category of glissando or portamento.

Here's another more recent song that has this (and lot of it, too): Tegan & Sara - Closer.

Also, here's some sheet music for that song: [1] [2] In the first one, the flourish is marked by a upwards-sloping diagonal line (maybe a lazy version of a glissando mark?) and in the second by what looks like a small legato mark. In both cases, where you would normally put the destination note of the glissando, they leave it blank (which makes me think that this might have a specific name that I've been unable to google).
posted by mhum at 7:06 PM on September 16, 2016

I thought all these singers were ripping it from Lene Lovitch.
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:17 PM on September 16, 2016

I've seen it called a "hiccup." An early example is Buddy Holly ("Peggy Sue," "Rave On," etc.).
posted by John Cohen at 7:21 PM on September 16, 2016

Could be a doit: a short slide from a given note upwards to an indefinite pitch. Doit is primarily a jazz term. Compare to scoop, fall, and plop, also on that linked page.
posted by danceswithlight at 7:57 PM on September 16, 2016

Also Santigold.
posted by persona au gratin at 12:07 AM on September 17, 2016